I used to pick my camping gear with less concern for its size and weight. I mean, I didn’t want to take one of those mattresses that you hooked up to a fan and blew up, but I camped with people who did.
When you camp out of your car (because, say, the reason for the camping trip was a kayaking trip or a cub scout outing) you can bring coolers and water and food and all kinds of things. I had read various articles in #OutsideMagazine and I’d read “A Walk In The Woods” by Bill Bryson, so I knew people who backpacked were more efficient than all that.
Now, I’m starting to backpack more often.
I have my old Kelty 20 degree bags that are roomy and can be zipped together for when my wife camps with me… but now I own the sort of bag that the woman in this cartoon mentions. It felt very weird to pick out gear for its size and weight rather than for its roominess and comfort.
Nothing like a portable tent you don’t have to work on… I guess.
Moral: “Guys. Whatcha gonna do?”
Now, how much of that gear lying around loose on the ground is still going to be there in the morning?
I always thought those canvas/nylon tents that fit in a truck bed are pretty cool. The only issue is comfort of laying on the truck bed. All those ridges would be very uncomfortable if you did not have a decent air mattress or thick enough sleeping pad.
My husband camps when he does motorcycling weekends, so we’ve gotten good at finding gear light enough and compact enough to fit on even his smallest Brit bike.
I have gotten good at ‘if I have to lug it it better be important’… however the lightest may not be the best. It’s the juggle between when the decimal drops out during the lug. Also applies to bus and airline luggage. How much do you want to drag up 51 steps a few times or drag/wheel/lug for about ten miles in one day, and how much can you lift over your head? (over head bags y’know)